(TUM) Thematic Unit: Memories - Grammar: Sentence Components Lesson

Thematic Unit: Memories - Grammar: Sentence Components Lesson 

Sentence Components

There are five main kinds of sentences in English. Every sentence is built around one of these. Take a look at the examples below.

 

1. S - V (a subject + a verb)

The S - V structure is the foundation for all English sentences. It describes a person or thing and an action that is being done.

Grammar Example 1 Image Examples: They walk. We are eating. He's sleeping.

 

We can add other elements to this basic core.

Grammar Example 2 Image Examples: They walk. They walk quickly. (+adverb - describing how the action is being done) They walk on the sidewalk. (+prepositional phrase - describing where the action is being done.) They walk every evening after dinner. (+time expressions - describing when the action is being done.) Every afternoon, they walk in the park. (combining prepositional phrase and time expressions.)

Notice that it does not matter what we add: it still has the S - V structure. We will learn more about adding to these basic structures later.

 

2. S - V - SC (a subject + a verb + a subject compliment)

Grammar Example 3 Examples: She is a doctor. My brother is a nice guy. Mark became a university professor.

We use this structure to say something about a person or thing -- to say that it is something or that it has some quality. A complement is a noun or an adjective that comes after a verb. There are certain verbs that we use with this structure. They are called 'linking verbs'. 'Be', 'seem', 'become', 'get' and the sense verbs ('look', 'sound', 'smell', 'feel', and 'taste') are the most common. 

We use some of these linking verbs (like 'be' and 'become') with nouns . We do this when we want to say that a person or thing is something.

We also use linking verbs with adjectives . We do this when we want to say that a person or thing has some quality.

Grammar Example 4 Examples: That seems difficult. He is tall, dark, and handsome. (We can use several adjectives.) You look confused. This math problem is confusing.

The last two examples use a special kind of adjective. These adjectives end in -ed and -ing, so they look like verbs. This confuses some people. We will learn more about this kind of adjective in another lesson.

 

3. S - V - O (a subject + a verb + an object)

Grammar Example 5 Examples: Melanie loves her job. We bought a new puppy. We're going to watch a movie.Grammar Example 6 Examples: People eat rice. Most people in Asian countries eat steamed or fried rice with every meal.We use this structure when there is something that an action happens to. This structure can only be used with verbs that take an object. The object comes right after the verb.

Again, we can add other elements to this basic structure.

It still has the S - V - O structure.

 

 

 

4. S - V - IO - DO (a subject + a verb + an indirect object + a direct object)

Some verbs take two objects. A direct object is the thing that someone acts on (See #3, above). But sometimes, there is another object, called the indirect object. An indirect object is the person (or thing) to whom or for whom an action is done. In the following examples, the direct object is green and the indirect object is purple.

Grammar Example 7 Examples: She passed Bradley the box. Michael sent us a postcard. The boss gave everyone a pay raise.

Sometimes, you might see this structure arranged differently, with the direct object first and the indirect object after it. In this case, though, a preposition (usually 'to') is needed.

Grammar Example 8 Examples: She passed the box to Bradley . Michael sent a postcard to us. The boss gave a pay raise to everyone.

 

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